Perry Fined $1,500 by Ethics Commission

Gov. Rick Perry was fined $1,500 by the Texas Ethics Commission for failing to report rental income from a house in College Station, and for filing incomplete information regarding debts on the same property, in personal financial statements required by state law.

"This was an inadvertent error, and as soon as it was realized, the governor’s personal financial statement was amended to include those items," Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said in a statement. "The Commission has since assessed a fine, which has been paid." 

Perry did not, as the law requires, report income in excess of $500 from rent. According to the Ethics Commission, the total undisclosed income from 2009 and 2010 was between $7,000 and $29,995. Perry also did not disclose all of the debts and the names of banks holding notes and leases on the property.

After examining the facts and "considering the sanction necessary to deter future violations," the commission imposed a $1,500 penalty. By agreeing to the fine, Perry neither admitted nor denied any wrongdoing.

The commission was responding to complaints filed by the Texas Democratic Party last year. Those complaints followed reports from The Associated Press on the College Station home and on homestead exemptions claimed there by the governor.